Labyrinth (28 page)

Chapter 31

She heard him before she actually saw him.

On the edges of her awareness, Annja heard his lumbering shuffle into the room while she was busy climbing the slide. In the dim light, she caught the massive hulk of a man. But she was already twenty feet up and had no intention of stopping.

Instead of paying him any attention, Annja turned, pried out her sword and then stabbed it in farther up. Then she wedged her feet on the sides and maneuvered herself higher.

Which is the moment the speakers from somewhere overhead clicked on and squealed for a moment before she heard breathing through a microphone.

“You’ve no doubt ascertained that I would be sending something special at you before this was all over,” Fairclough said.

Annja was breathing too hard to answer. The strain of pulling herself up the slide was exhausting her faster than she’d expected it would.

“Not feeling conversational? How rude.” Fairclough laughed, and it set Annja’s teeth on edge. She pulled harder.

“The problem I ran into was figuring out what would work best against you. I’ve had plenty of time to study you, find out about you—including that magnificent sword in your possession—and try to determine your weak point, if any.”

So, he’d known about the sword before she’d had to use it in the maze. Fine. Maybe her demonstrated prowess with it would make him hesitate—slip up—when she finally brought the sword against him.

“And what I came up with was interesting. You are very much your own woman. You like doing what you do, even though you’re lonely.”

Great, Fairclough was the embodiment of every pushy mother out there. Something she’d never had the pleasure of knowing as an orphan. “You’ll be asking for grandkids next,” she murmured through gritted teeth.

“Your strength is obviously your greatest asset—your reflexes are without peer—and your cunning is something to be admired, as well.”

Annja yanked the sword out and then plunged it in higher up. The shearing sound of the blade cutting through metal echoed across the room.

“You are most vulnerable when your friends are at risk.”

She stopped. Frowned. Well, so were a lot of people. But it was true. Annja valued her friendships. Loyalty. It drove her to do what she could for people.

But I don’t see that as a weakness, she thought. Just because other people bought and sold their loyalty like two-bit crack whores didn’t mean she had to, as well.

“So, of course, I needed to find a friend I could…exploit.”

Exploit? What the hell did that mean? Annja wedged herself against the sides of the slide and eked her way higher. Somewhere below her, she heard the sound of breathing. Labored breathing.

Annja peered into the shadows. What was down there? What had Fairclough done now?

Fairclough’s voice continued to drone on. Clearly, Annja thought, he enjoyed the sound of it.

“…but we couldn’t find someone who matched what we were looking for. After all, we had plans for them. They needed to be your equal in certain respects. Someone who would challenge you, so to speak.”

A shadow below the slide shifted. And Annja saw new movement as the man down there stepped out into the dim light.

“Imagine my delight when I noticed that you were actually developing a bond with your fellow maze traveler. It was almost too much to dare hope for, and yet here it was, happening right in front of my eyes.”

Annja squinted. Was that some sort of metallic glint? She frowned and cleared her throat. “Kessel?”

“Kessel,” Fairclough agreed overhead. “Or rather, it was Kessel. I’m afraid we had to do a bit of work on him to ensure that he’d be more, shall we say, compliant. He was quite the stubborn candidate, but I believe we’ve gotten past his stalwart inhibitions.”

Annja felt something brush against the slide, sending vibrations up and into her body. She tensed, holding on to the sword.

“Kessel?” she repeated.

Fairclough’s laughter fairly bubbled out of the speakers. “I wouldn’t expect him to respond the way he might once have. Jonas has made a few alterations to his personality.”

Annja almost slipped. They’d gotten to Kessel. But how? In the dim light she saw something blinking. Red. A light? It seemed to be at the base of his skull. What the hell was that?

“And now, I think it’s time for a demonstration. Kessel, can you hear me?”

Annja heard a voice answer from somewhere far below her. “I hear you.”

“Annja is on the slide to your right. Destroy the slide, and when she falls to the floor, kill her.”

“I hear and comply.”

Annja’s heartbeat raced. They’d been friends—possibly a little something more—and now, he was going to kill her.

Or Annja would have to kill him to save herself.

The dilemma was immediate and uncompromising. If she didn’t kill him, he would kill her. And judging by what Fairclough had said and what Annja herself had seen, she didn’t think it would be possible to reach Kessel. No way to appeal to him.

They’d turned him into a machine. One that bled, she imagined, but a machine nonetheless.

Annja felt the slide shudder as Kessel crashed into it below. If she’d been any lower, the impact might have jarred her loose.

Annja tried to figure out how much farther she’d have to travel before she found a place to rest out of Kessel’s reach.

The realization hit her hard: too far. The slide curved about twenty feet farther on before leveling out. It was also stronger up there, bolted to the sides of the wall with what looked like industrial-grade screws.

But until she reached that point, the slide was a trap.

Kessel crashed into it again and the shuddering impact sent waves of vibrations up the metal and into Annja’s body. She gripped her sword and pressed her feet into the sides.

It was like mountain climbing, where she’d had to brace herself by leaning out away from the rock face, instead of hugging it. Annja took a breath and grimaced. Whatever it took to hold on, she would do it.

Falling would be a death sentence for her. And she didn’t want to have to kill Kessel. There might be a way to help him.

“What do you think, Annja? Is this the way you thought you would some day be killed? At the hands of someone you might have grown to love in time?”

Annja took another breath as Kessel once again slammed his body into the bottom of the slide. She tensed and then relaxed as Kessel moved away with a dull groan. Had he injured himself?

That might buy her some time. Annja turned her attention back to climbing. Twenty feet wasn’t that far, was it? She pulled the sword out, plunged it in higher, then brought her feet up. It was slow progress. She gained maybe two feet as she repeated the movement.

And she had to hold on each time Kessel attacked the slide.

Annja froze. Was that the sound of metal rattling?

Crap. Something was coming apart.

She’d have to work doubly fast now. Annja watched as Kessel bounced off the slide again and then she immediately climbed toward the next section, which wouldn’t be affected by Kessel’s demolishing the lower part.

Annja glanced up. Fifteen feet.

It might as well have been three miles.

But she kept climbing. And each time Kessel slammed the slide, she felt it give a little bit more. Annja glanced down at the flickering red light. Kessel was probably receiving his commands through some sort of transmitter. What would happen if Annja broke that off? Would he be free from Fairclough’s influence?

Or would breaking the antenna off injure Kessel or even kill him?

“You won’t escape, Annja,” Fairclough repeated. “I’ve got contingency plans in place to accommodate your cunning.”

If Annja could have flipped him the bird, she would have. But she was too busy.

Kessel’s attacks on the slide increased. Fairclough must have sent him another command.

Pieces of the slide started to come away from the wall.

Ten feet.

“You’re not playing nicely, Annja.” Fairclough sounded vaguely annoyed. “You’re forcing me to do things I don’t want to do.”

Good. Bring it on.

Somewhere high above her, she heard something but couldn’t quite place the sound. It grew in intensity, however, and Annja realized what it was almost too late. She barely had time to duck her head as she held on for dear life.

A torrent of water crashed down on her. If she’d had her face up, it would have dislodged her. But her instincts had saved her once again. And by keeping her head down, she was able to withstand the flood.

Kessel didn’t sound so lucky. She heard him fall over and moan on the floor below her.

That would buy her some time.

Annja shook her head like a dog and then continued her climb. She had to reach the next section.

“Go faster, Kessel.”

Fairclough’s command had an immediate effect. Kessel got to his feet quickly and then drove himself into the slide over and over again. Annja had to cling to the slide while he did that, hoping that she could hold on.

Finally, Kessel had to take a break or risk injuring himself too much. Annja knew Fairclough wanted Kessel and Annja to square off in combat. So that meant he couldn’t waste Kessel.

Annja started climbing again. She got to eight feet before she heard Fairclough’s voice again.

“You’re starting to try my patience, Annja.”

And then Annja heard something else far above. More water? she wondered. More like the rattling of what sounded like stones.

Six feet remained between her and the second section of the slide.

Kessel crashed into the slide from below and Annja nearly lost her grip on her sword. As it was, she swung out on one side and had to swing back to get her loose hand on the sword again.

This was becoming too precarious.

The rattling suddenly grew deafening and Annja risked a glance up, before ducking her head back down as the stones rained down on her. She set her jaw and clenched her teeth as her head took the brunt of rocks and sand. The sharp, jagged edges bit into her skin. She let out a roar as the rocks rolled over her and onto Kessel far below.

“Did you enjoy that, Annja?”

Annja gritted her teeth and spat out the dust. She yanked the sword out and plunged it in higher.

And then she wedged her feet, repeating the process once more.